Rumor: Sprint blacking out staff vacations for first half of Oct. as iPhone 5 nears

Evidence continues to mount that Apples fifth-generation iPhone will launch in early October on Sprint, as an allegedly leaked internal memo has surfaced announcing a temporary vacation ban due to the possibility of a major phone launch.

The leaked document, dug up by SprintFeed, mentions that the blackout extends from Sept. 30 to Oct. 15, though it neglects to mention the major phone by name. The timeframe surrounds an Oct. 7 "Strategy Update" presentation from the company that was announced late last month.

A recent report from The Wall Street Journal said Sprint will launch Apple's next iPhone in mid-October. Responding directly to claim, the carrier issued an internal memo advising its employees not to discuss the possibility of a fifth-generation iPhone launch with inquiring customers.

The carrier then announced plans to raise its contract early termination fee for advanced devices, including smartphones, to $350 starting Sept. 9. The new ETF, which would match AT&Ts and Verizons own cancellation fees for similar devices, is meant to prevent customers from ditching the carrier after acquiring new devices for subsidized prices. The move has been perceived by some as an indication that a Sprint iPhone launch is near.

A subsequent report claimed Sprint cellular repeaters are being installed in and around Apple stores, further suggesting Sprint iPhone testing and pointing to the possibility of an imminent iPhone launch.

On Monday, the company sued AT&T and its partners to block the proposed acquisition of T-Mobile. The wording of certain complaints made in the court filings has prompted further speculation that Sprint will soon begin selling the iPhone.

Finally, on Friday, Sprint was rumored to continue offering unlimited data plans to its subscribers even after the expected iPhone 5 launch. Comparatively, the other two mobile operators that will carry the device, AT&T and Verizon, will offer tiered, capped data plans to their subscribers.

Weighing in on reports suggesting Apple would partner with the nation's third-largest carrier to sell the iPhone, analysts estimated the carrier would sell 1.2 million iPhones in the fourth quarter of the year with Sprint iPhone sales growing up to 6 million in 2012.

Apple is expected to announce the fifth-generation iPhone at an as yet unconfirmed media event this fall with iPhone 5 sales believed, according to some reports, to begin in early- to mid-October. The device is believed to sport the A5 processor found in the iPad 2 and an 8-megapixel camera, up from the current 5-megapixel shooter.

Well the blackout on employee vacation times is probably harder to keep silent but they should be more careful with sensitive documents. It's insane how much a single product line can influence the popularity of one carrier or another.

Evidence continues to mount that Apples fifth-generation iPhone will launch in early October on Sprint, as an allegedly leaked internal memo has surfaced announcing a temporary vacation ban due to the possibility of a major phone launch.

Sprint has been leakier than a bucket made of Swiss cheese when it comes to keeping the iPhone 5 launch date a secret.

Well, what can a carrier really do? They have to have massive staff available, and they have to plan ahead publicly in order to make that possible. This, really, has been how all the launch dates have been nailed down in the past.

Enjoy not getting it, then. When 80% of Apple's market doesn't have LTE and won't for the life of the device, I don't want them wasting my time and my device wasting its battery life with a technology it will never encounter at any point in its lifetime.

Well, what can a carrier really do? They have to have massive staff available, and they have to plan ahead publicly in order to make that possible. This, really, has been how all the launch dates have been nailed down in the past.

Exactly. Also, they could perhaps be forgiven their enthusiasm: they've waited almost five years for this day to arrive, and I have to believe that this is perhaps one of the most exciting days in their corporate life!

Tim Cook is gay, believes in climate change, and cares deeply about racial equality. Deal with it (and please spare us if you can't).

If I lived in one of the few areas with LTE coverage, didn't travel frequently, and constantly used my phone as a WiFi hotspot for my laptop, I'd agree with you. But none of those are true for me.

The closest 4G capable area is 2 hours away from where I live, and I never get under 3-4 Mbps down throughout my entire city with the iPhone 4 on AT&T's 3G network so it's not like I'm dealing with terribly slow internet speeds anyways.

I travel a lot and considering how spotty 4G coverage is, the chance I'll be somewhere with LTE is slim at best, especially outside of the US, where my chances drop to 0.

I pay for the personal hotspot feature, and it's great for those very rare occasions when I'm using my laptop somewhere without WiFi, but that maybe happens once every month or so, if even that.

The thought of 10-15 Mbps down speeds on a phone sounds great at first, but what would you honestly use it for? It pales in comparison to my 60 Mbps broadband connection at home (aka I'll never use it there), and while I'm on the go I use my phone's data connection for Pandora, web surfing, downloading music from iTunes, and various apps that require a data like flight tracking apps, navigation, etc.. 3-4 Mbps is perfectly adequate for all of that. Would faster be better? Of course. But the real-world noticeable difference would be minimal at best. Is a minimal boost in speed worth sacrificing much needed battery life? Not in my book.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm not against the idea of 4G in any way. I'm sure in a few years we'll have a hard time remembering how terrible it was to only have 4 Mbps down speeds on our phones. But after what I've seen from the Various Android phones releasing every 6 months that all have 4G capability, the tech still has a loooong way to go, and I'm not even talking about minimal coverage, I'm talking about the actual LTE chips. Until they address the massive power drain issues, I don't want LTE anywhere near my iPhone. I'll gladly take my day and a half of battery life (and that's with heavy use) and 3-4 Mbps speeds while the suckers who bought a 4G device help beta test the technology. Serve me a piece when it's done baking.

I'll gladly take my day and a half of battery life (and that's with heavy use) and 3-4 Mbps speeds while the suckers who bought a 4G device help beta test the technology. Serve me a piece when it's done baking.

The one value I do see in 4G is simulateous data/voice. Speed is only one factor in 4G's purpose, but I do agree that no one ever really needs such a fast (theoretical) downlink speed on a phone to download a 4MB game, or load web pages, at the sacrifice of battery life.

That would be CDMA voice and LTE data. The LTE voice spec isn't finalized yet.

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Speed is only one factor in 4G's purpose, but I do agree that no one ever really needs such a fast (theoretical) downlink speed on a phone to download a 4MB game, or load web pages, at the sacrifice of battery life.

No, we only don't need it because we can't use it with a 2GB cap anyway.

I have an HTC ThunderBolt, and while it's fast as hell, once you get over running speed tests, it's pretty pointless.

1.) Crap battery life, I've had an extended (turns my phone into a massive brick) battery from day 1.
2.) Data caps make LTE a huge $ generator, you can burn through the caps in a heartbeat.
3.) Poor building penetration of the 4G signal, this includes Sprint's 4G as well.

Build quality on the TB is crap too, it's a few months old and creaks like a 10 year old taxi.

With 4G (LTE) you can use the web, SMS/MMS the same time while you talk, correct? How about on say a Verizon 3G iPhone now, can you at least talk and use the Notes app and other non-data apps or are that also only possible together on LTE?

Also, LTE is not nationwide yet, right? Anyone know when it will be nationwide on Verizon? I live in San Fran area and want to know if it's a benefit I can use soon if it was theoretically on iPhone.

I'm on 3GS and want opinions if I should get the soon to come "4S/5" or wait till next years phone assumably with LTE.